Birds, birds, birds

Another Sunday morning spent running round the forest. The weather was undecided: "To drizzle or to snow? To drizzle or to snow?" Most of the time it snowed, but since the last couple of days have been somewhat warmer, it melted on touchdown.

This weeks stats (Well done! Good girl!) ...

Total running time this week: 7 hours 40 minutes (scheduled: 7 hours 40 minutes)

Total distance run: approx. 56.9 km (scheduled 54.4 km)

I have run a longer distance than I should have, because I do my long runs based on the scheduled time and heart rate only. The trainings plan for today said: 170 minutes at a heart rate of 146. This should have been 19.5 km based on the last performance test. But I finished the 10 k track twice (it used to be an official track, so the 10 km are exact) and ran an additional loop of approx. 2 km. I guess, this means I am getting faster...

I took my camera with me again. But I took so many pictures at the carnival party on Thursday, that the battery was low. And I had completely forgotten to recharge it, so I only managed to make few pictures today. With few exceptions they are of birds.

I thought, this was just a big stone, but closer inspection revealed that it is a volvox made of stone...

Either this is proof to Karen, that people ARE polluters all over the world and not just in rural Alabama, or the forest wardens of Cologne have managed to grow a strange tree in the official colours of Cologne, red and white...

And now... the birds. Swan lake is no longer frozen...

This is an Ardea cinerea or Grey Heron or Graureiher. It didn't feel like posing for the camera and flew away at first.

But it didn't fly far and I managed to get a little closer. Alas, not close enough to make really good pictures.

At the little lake I came across this little guy.

I believe, he answers to the name of Phalacrocorax carbo or Cormorant or Kormoran.

I enlarged part of the last picture, so you can see him a little better: